1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to a priming assembly including an improved one way valve which allows the rapid flow of large volumes of fluid.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In situations where motorized pumps are not suitable to facilitate the transfer of fluids, it is well known to use a siphon assembly. Typically, siphons include a tube that is used to transfer fluid to a lower level along a path including an intervening portion of relatively higher elevation. Once the fluid in the tube reaches the peak of the elevation, its weight generally provides the impetus to create a continuous flow due to the force of gravity and the elevational difference between the fluid source and the discharge area. The main difficulty presented during siphoning is getting the fluid from the source through the portion of the tube that climbs the elevation. Common methods include sucking on the outlet end of the tube to draw the liquid to the point in the tube where the force of gravity takes over, or dipping a significant portion of the tube into the fluid, filling the tube, then quickly removing the tube from the source and over the elevation where the force of gravity takes over. These methods are not only inconvenient, time-consuming and dangerous but at times impossible, given the volume of fluid to be elevated when sucking or the shape and access to the source container when dipping. Additionally, it is difficult to easily manoeuvre and utilize existing technologies, both motorized pumps and siphons, to vacuum debris from the source container such that the source container is cleaned as it is drained.
It is well known to provide siphon or priming assemblies which include the provision of a one way valve device on the source end of the tube such that the assembly may be shaken in an up and down manner to gradually force the fluid into the siphon tube (commonly referred to as "priming the tube") and up the elevation to the critical point where gravity takes over. In such devices, when the siphon tube is moved in the downward direction during priming, fluid forces the valve member to an unseated position and fluid is allowed into the siphon tube. When the assembly is moved in the upward direction, the valve member is urged into the seated position, preventing the fluid already in the siphon tube from escaping. Continuous up and down movement forces the fluid higher and higher in the siphon tube until it reaches the critical point where the force of the gravity creates continuous siphon flow. Examples of such assemblies are U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,997 to Jacobson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,391to Brumfield et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,760 to Songzeng et al.. In these cases, the valve member moves within the flow cavity between its seated position and an unseated position, when the siphon assembly is shaken up and down. When the valve element is in the seated position, fluid is prevented from flowing around it and through the valve body, out of the siphon tube. When the valve element is in the unseated position, fluid is allowed to flow around it and through the valve body into the siphon tube. Once a sufficient amount of fluid has entered the tube, gravity generates continuous siphon flow.
The Jacobson, Brumfield and Songzeng assemblies allow the user to generate siphon flow without the user having to suck on the outlet end of the siphon tube or dipping the tube into the fluid. While these valve assemblies have proven effective in many applications, they do have drawbacks. In particular, when in the unseated position, the valve members disclosed in these patents occupy a substantial amount of the volume within the flow cavity. In addition, the available flow area leading to the siphon tube, as the valve member's are in their unseated position, is limited. These design aspects tend to partially restrict the fluid flow, causing it to slow considerably and making them prone to clogging. An additional drawback of Jacobson's and Brumfield's invention is that neither teaching may allow the user to control and manoeuvre the siphon assembly to vacuum debris from the source container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,615 to Ramsauer et al. attempts to overcome the shortcomings of Jacobson et al., Brumfield et al. and Songzeng et al.. Ranmsauer teaches a complex tubular valve body and flapper valve hingedly disposed within the tubular body so that the flapper valve moves from a position which blocks fluid flow to one where the flapper valve sits substantially flush against the tubular body, allowing for the substantially unimpeded flow of fluid through the valve assembly, greatly improving the efficiency and flow characteristics through the valve. A significant drawback of the valve taught by Ramsauer is the complexity of the valve, and the associated costs involved in designing and developing the various moulds and attachments that would be required to ensure that the hingedly attached valve is operable.
Further technologies have been devised to address the ability to control and manoeuvre a siphon device so that it can be used to vacuum debris suspended within the fluid and that settled on the bottom of it's source container. One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,026 to Scarpine et al. and yet another is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,206 to Lynch at al. Neither of these devices incorporate a priming valve nor have they been designed to siphon large volumes of fluid quickly. In fact, the Lynch technology has been specifically designed to drain a minimal amount of fluid as it is used.
A need is therefore identified for an improved priming assembly and more particularly a manuoverable priming assembly with an improved one way priming valve which functions to efficiently generate continuous siphon flow, which allows for the rapid flow of large volumes of fluid through the valve body and priming assembly, which can be utilized to vacuum debris from the source container and which can be quickly, easily and cheaply made and applied to various sizes or diameters of siphon tube, depending in the volumes of fluid to be transferred, with minimal set-up, tooling and mould development costs.